Consumers who purchase a travel insurance policy are provided with a hotline they can access anytime, anywhere. Last year, the highly-respected travel insurer Allianz Global Assistance received some 56,000 calls, ranging from requests for things such as help in finding a destination guide to serious medical issues requiring evacuation. Although not every hotline call is a medical emergency, many of the calls are of a medical nature.
A Virtual Emergency Room
When a medical case file is opened, an Allianz case manager contacts the insured and finds out where they are located. Allianz’s medical team then assesses the patient in a ‘virtual emergency room,’ getting information without seeing the patient. The company looks for registered nurses with at least five years of emergency room experience to staff that team. Allianz also employs six medical directors and a chief medical officer, all of them specialized in aeromedical transports.
The medical team first looks at the client’s location and whether he or she is in an appropriate facility. They also get a copy of the patient’s medical report. Meanwhile, the case manager works with the billing office. Allianz has agreements with many hospitals that will accept a letter of guarantee from the company in lieu of payment from the client.
Allianz’s medical team continues to monitor patients once they’re in an appropriate medical facility and determines how to get them home. Patients can be evacuated by air ambulance if commercial flights aren’t an option. Allianz’s medical team has the support of 34 international offices and contracts with more than 110 “ground agents”.
Traveling can sometimes pose risks, and the inevitable can happen. Travel insurance offers both protection and peace of mind.
